Time Will Tell
by Sinnymun
Summary: Naraku is dead, the jewel completed, but at a terrible price... How far will Inuyasha go to get Kagome back?
1. The Price

The Price

_Kagome…_ Shippou stood hunched over her fallen body; his eyes clenched shut, his tiny hands balled into tight fists.  Miroku reached out a hand to put on the child's shoulder, but he lashed out, biting the monk until he was left alone, only to return to his frozen pose over her.

_Kagome…_ was the only thought he could think.  Repeating her name over and over in his mind.  Here she was… his first and very best friend.  She was his savior, his protector, and his pal.  He thought of all the things she had brought back from her world for him.  Chocolate, and crayons for him to play with.  He still had one or two in his pockets, he thought.  Though he didn't think he would ever draw with them again.  He thought of all the times she had sat Inuyasha for beating him up.  Inuyasha had fallen some ways away… Shippou wasn't letting himself think about that just yet.

_Kagome…_ the kitsune slowly relived the horror of the night in his mind.  They had been certain the only jewel shards left were those of Naraku's, so they had to get them from him.  That was just the way it was.  They had found his new fortress, and attacked.  Images blurred together as tears stung the fox child's eyes.  Kagome, so brave with her arrows.  Naraku vanishing in a cloud of miasma, leaving Kikyou behind.  Inuyasha rushing in to rescue his undead miko.  Naraku was behind them!  He had Kagome!  The sickening sound of Kagome's last scream…

_Kagome… _Shippou couldn't believe she was dead.  She really was dead.  He had watched as Naraku clawed at her throat for the jewel shards.  Kagome was so brave… she reached into Naraku's chest as if it were so much butter.  She found his shards.  There was so much light.  So much light he hadn't been able to look at it.  And when the light faded, Naraku was gone.  Kagome fell, half of the Shikon No Tama in each hand.  Her throat was a bloody mess, and blood was smeared across her serene face.

"Oh my god…" Miroku's voice behind him was full of shock and amazement.  He heard Sango gasp, also shocked.  Shippou kept his eyes shut tight, and his body perfectly still.  Whatever was happening was nothing, nothing compared to Kagome's death.

"Inuyasha…" Sango was running away from him.  What was going on?  Inuyasha was just as dead as Kagome.  Shippou granted them a glance, and couldn't believe what he saw.

Across the battlefield, a bloody and ash-covered Inuyasha was slowly trying to sit up.

Inuyasha's eyes opened, looking at the flimsy clouds drifting across a brilliant sky.  He was disoriented for a moment; he had been lost in the most wonderful dream.  His mother and Kagome were talking in a kitchen, Kikyou's voice had whispered on the breeze, and he had been filled with a feeling that everything was finally okay.  It was simple, but it was the best dream he'd had in a very long time.

Scenes from the battle came flooding back to him.  Miroku and Sango fighting together against a multitude of demons.  He was attacking Naraku, under the cover of Kagome's arrows.  Shippou was, as always, at Kagome's feet throwing his pathetic little foxfires at the demons surrounding her.  Good thing Kirara was doing her part, or Kagome would have been toast.  He remembered Naraku laughing at him, telling him he had something special for the hanyou dog.  The shape-shifting demon had disappeared in a gust of miasma.  Inuyasha had choked on the thick rotten stench of it, covering the lower half of his face with his sleeve.  Suddenly he'd seen Kikyou, where Naraku had been.  She was weak, collapsing in the miasma.  Inuyasha had been so confused; everyone had thought that Naraku had already killed her.  But there she was, crying for his help.  He had gone to her aid without a second thought.  Everything went fuzzy from there… he couldn't remember anything really, but Kikyou's voice, telling him everything was finally okay.

How had he gotten so injured?  Inuyasha could barely move, but he tried to sit up.  It was time to find out what had happened with the others.  He grunted with pain, surprised by the amount of blood covering him, and where had these ashes come from?  Where was everyone?  He looked across the battlefield, there were Sango and Miroku.  Was that Shippou?  His vision was blurry, and pain throbbed between his temples.

_Oh, good.  They're coming over here.  What the hell happened?  Did we win?  We must have won, or else we'd all be dead._  Miroku was soon at his side, helping him sit up.  Sango was with him, holding back tears.

"What happened?  Did we win?  Is Naraku dead?"  Inuyasha was beginning to have a very horrible feeling about this situation.  In answer to his question, Miroku held out his hand.  The holy beads that contained his curse were gone, his hand was whole.  The curse could only be ended with Naraku's death, so Inuyasha was certain the vile being was gone.  But then what was wrong with those two?

"Kagome killed him."  Sango choked over the words, holding back a sob.

"That's great!  What the hell is wrong with you?"  Inuyasha was becoming more and more irritated, and panicked.

Sango only looked away from him, at the kitsune who still stood alone.  Something dawned on Inuyasha.

"Where's Kagome?"  

Miroku looked down, clenching his now whole hand.  Sango burst into tears, holding the monk for support.  Inuyasha didn't believe it.  No way.  No way was she…

"Where's Kagome?"  He was more insistent now.  He stood up slowly and knew that the answer was with Shippou.  The kitsune was never far from her.  He left the two of them behind, holding each other.

_She can't be.  We finally won, Kagome.  You have to be here.  Everything is finally going to be right.  Everything is finally right, Kagome, we finally won!  You can't be-_ He couldn't even think the word.  Not when it came to Kagome.  But as he approached the frozen fox child, he knew.  He knew before he saw her.

Her face took his gaze first, smeared with blood but serene.  The source of the blood was obvious.  Her throat… was a mess.  He took in the rest of her, noticing the halves of the Jewel in her hands, but for once, for the first time, not caring about them.  The hanyou fell to his knees, reaching for her.  Inuyasha wanted to hold her, wanted to take her in his arms as he'd always wanted to.

"Don't touch her."  Shippou's voice shocked him with its cold rage.  "Don't you dare touch her."

"Shippou-!" Inuyasha didn't know what to say to the kid.  He knew Shippou loved Kagome dearly, but they all had.  What was wrong with him?

"I said don't you touch her!"  The kitsune screamed.  "Get away from her!  This is all your fault!  You never took care of her like you should!  You never cared what happened to her when your bitch appeared!  This is all your fault, you bastard!  This is all your fault!"  Shippou attacked him.  Inuyasha had never seen the boy fox act like this.  He was so weak he couldn't even fend off the violence.  The child acted as if he truly wanted the hanyou dead.  Wanted to kill him with his own claws and fangs!

Inuyasha fell backward.  Shippou's words were sinking in.  _'You never cared what happened to her when your bitch appeared…' It's true.  This is my fault.  Kagome is dead because I failed to protect her._  He couldn't bear this again.  He lay on his back, accepting the child's weak blows.  Tears began to trickle from his closed eyes, but Shippou didn't stop.  He beat Inuyasha across the face, slashing him with his needle-fine claws.  He shrieked with rage, biting the hanyou's neck, to not much good.  His tiny fox fangs were no match for Inuyasha's tough skin.  Inuyasha let his tears flow freely, stinging his many cuts under the flurry of Shippou's rage.


	2. Dead Girl Interlude

Dead Girl Interlude

"Kagome… don't be afraid."  _Kikyou?  Of course I'm not afraid… I just killed Naraku.  What do I have to be afraid of, and where the hell am I?_

"Kikyou?  Is that you?  What did you do to Inuyasha?  I'll kill you if you hurt him!"  _Oh don't you smile at me like that, bitch.  We're not friends, and I meant what I said._

"That was clever, the way you killed Naraku.  Finally mastering the powers I gave you.  Too late though."  _What is she talking about?_

"What?"  Kagome looked around her, but saw nothing.  Wait, if she looked at things properly, there were odd dark shadows, resembling the battlefield she had been fighting on.

"Kagome… I hate to be the one to tell you this, but…" Kikyou was walking toward her.  "Your dead.  Naraku killed you."

"Then you're dead too?"  Kagome countered.  "And you didn't take Inuyasha to hell with you?"

"I've been dead for over fifty years…" The miko sighed. "I know… Lately I haven't been behaving very nicely.  But there's an explanation, if you'd like to hear it.  And I can explain about what just happened to Inuyasha.  And too you."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her past life, and looked around her, some of the shadows were moving.  Were those her friends?

"Alright.  I'll listen.  First, tell me about Inuyasha, though.  I thought I saw… I saw him die!"

"Don't worry!  He'll be okay, if he doesn't go mad over your death.  I did what I could for him before moving on."

_Whoa,_ Kagome was having a hard time believing that she was dead, but that seemed to be the case.

Kikyou continued, "Can I start at the beginning, and why I've been such a terror lately?"  Kagome just nodded, watching the scene around her.

"Urasue, the demon, reanimated my ashes so that I could serve her, and help her capture the rest of the jewel shards.  So when she summoned my- our soul, she created her own evil spirit to merge with mine, and make me her slave.  But I resisted the merging at first, and managed to kill her.  But it still overtook me. It took everything of me that it had, and blackened it.  My feelings for Inuyasha became a desperate need for vengeance, when all I've ever wanted was peace.  Fortunately, you managed to recall our soul, back where it belonged, in your body, minus the bits of my consciousness that had merged with the evil spirit.  I never loved him like you do, Kagome…" The priestess looked a little sad, "I think I might have been using him, even when I was alive.  I wanted to be a normal woman.  And to do that, the jewel had to be purified.  Making Inuyasha a human would do that, and also I wouldn't have to be alone anymore.  I did love him, but… there may have been ulterior motives behind that love.  Which explains why Naraku's simple ruse fooled me."

"Kikyou…" Kagome didn't know what to say.  This was the real Kikyou, and she was saying that, maybe her love for Inuyasha hadn't been meant to be?  "I never…" But the priestess cut her off, continuing with her story.

"You, on the other hand, truly love him.  I can see it, because when you completed the jewel, what were you planning to do with it?"

"I… I don't really know…"

"Exactly.  You don't really want Inuyasha to become full human, and you certainly don't want him to become full demon.  You love Inuyasha as what he is, a hanyou.  You two are meant to be together, Kagome.  Our soul belongs with his.  But me… I wasn't.  It's hard to explain because you and I are the same, but so different.  We carry the same soul, the soul of Midoriko, but our… our individual selves are very different.  I was not meant to be with Inuyasha, but my soul was, so fate, destiny, or the gods, let me die, giving me the peace I had wanted all my life, and let you be born and fall through the well."

Kagome couldn't believe her ears.  It was confusing… but easier when she thought of their soul as something they both carried, rather than what made them who they were.  "Okay, I'm sorry that I thought it was you…" Apologies seemed stupid, so she just said, "Alright then, I appreciate you telling me this, but if Inuyasha and I are meant to be, then why am I dead?"  The thought that she had died before ever getting to be with him was quite depressing, but for some reason she knew that it wasn't over for them.

"Just let me finish okay?"  Kikyou gave her a stern look.  Kagome made the universal sign for 'I'll shut up', zipping her fingers across her lips.  "Naraku, the bastard, captured my reanimated self.  And by keeping my soul gatherers from me, he kept me very weak.  I knew his plan was to use me to get Inuyasha away from you, so he could claim your half of the jewel.  At the time, aside from the fact that I hated what he was doing to me, I enjoyed the thought of you and Inuyasha dieing.  But I've already explained about that.  In the battle, he kept me hidden and barely alive, until he saw that Inuyasha was properly enraged.  The boy doesn't think too clearly when he loses his temper, does he?  Then he let Inuyasha see me, knowing that he would come to my aid.  Naraku's latest creation, an invisible air demon, beat our poor hanyou into the ground before he knew what hit him… Then Naraku removed the spell that had been keeping me alive, and my reanimated body dissolved back into ashes and clay, the merged spirits split and I ended up here, where I belong, at last.  And I'm sure you know what happened on your side of the battlefield."

Kagome thought about what Kikyou had been saying, and smiled at her past life.

"You know, thanks Kikyou."

"For what?  If it weren't for me Inuyasha would-"

"If it weren't for you, Inuyasha wouldn't have a clue what love was, much less be inclined to help and protect me and the rest of the group.  You had a big part in making him as great as he is now.  I just want to say thanks.  Though… now, I guess I'll never get to really enjoy him…" Kagome felt an overwhelming rush of pain, thinking that she would never even have a chance now.

"Not if I can help it, Kagome.  Don't forget, there's still the jewel, and there's still your friends, and there's still Inuyasha…" Kikyou looked out, at Inuyasha who was sitting up and looking rather bewildered.  She put a comforting arm around her reincarnation's shoulder, hoping that she really could find a way to send Kagome back to the living world.  The girl was sweet, and she was proud of the type of person her soul had become.  So her next life had lost some miko powers, she had gained a lot in character, personality, and spirit.


	3. Grief, Sorrow, Comfort

Grief, Sorrow, Comfort

Shippou couldn't stop himself.  As he had watched Inuyasha sit up, and speak to Miroku and Sango it had dawned on him.  Inuyasha was alive.  But Kagome was dead.  Rather than lessening his grief, this only filled him with fury.  Kagome was dead.  She was gone for forever.  And Inuyasha was alive.  Inuyasha was walking toward him.  Kagome lay before him, disturbingly still.  Inuyasha had rushed to save his undead ex-lover.  Kagome had died killing Naraku.  Inuyasha was reaching for her.  As if she belonged to him.  Kagome had died.  She had died killing Naraku because Inuyasha wasn't there to protect her.  Inuyasha did not deserve to cry over her.  He did not deserve to hold her and grieve over her.  Inuyasha had not watched her die.

Sango pulled him, still screaming and crying, off of Inuyasha.  She actually enlisted the aid of Kirara to control the suddenly wild kitsune.  At the suggestion of Miroku, she carried him away from the battlefield.  He collapsed on Kirara's back, sobbing uncontrollably.

Eventually Kirara came to a stop at the base of a tree, where the sun fell gently on them.  Shippou could not stop crying as Sango pulled him into her arms.  He felt her tears falling on his head as she held him.  He felt her sobs as she shared his grief.  Kagome had been her friend too.  Kagome had been everyone's friend.  Everyone had loved her.  Why had she been the one to die?  Why couldn't it have been him?  He clung to the comfort Sango offered, which was simply in not being alone, that she felt the same way he did.  In simply sharing this horrid feeling with someone else, it subsided, until both of their tears were spent.

"What will happen now?"  He asked her quietly.  She still hugged him close, kind of the way Kagome used too.

"Right now, or from now on?" Sango replied.

Shippou considered it.  "Right now.  What do we do now?"

"We could go back, and help Miroku and Inuyasha…" She paused, looking at the kit, hoping she hadn't just incited another fit.  At the mention of Inuyasha, Shippou tensed.  His face darkened and his hands balled into fists.

"Shippou… he loved her too."  Sango said, gently as she could, because deep in her heart, she was angry at the hanyou too.  Her mind could rationalize what had happened.  She could understand that Inuyasha had had no real choice in the matter.  That he had thought Naraku was pulling his same old disappearing trick.  But deep down, she was angry with him for letting Kagome die.  For letting her take on Naraku alone.  But she also knew, that as angry as she and Shippou were right now, it was nothing compared to how much he must hate himself.

"Then why-?" Shippou couldn't say it again.

"He didn't know.  He thought she was safe.  Shippou, he's alive, and he's our friend.  He needs us now."

The kitsune snorted.  Sango just gently scratched his ears, knowing that eventually, he would come around.  In the meantime she just held him, shared his sorrow, and wondered what Miroku was doing with Inuyasha.

Miroku was at a loss.  He didn't know what exactly to do or say to the hanyou, but he was fairly certain he had to get Inuyasha up.  Eventually.  For now, it was okay to let him grieve.  

Inuyasha's only movement, from the time Sango and Kirara had removed the wild kit, had been to roll over, so that he lay on his side, his face close to Kagome's.  But he kept his hands close to himself, not touching her.  His eyes were closed, and he was curled up, the very picture of despair.

Miroku sat down, behind the hanyou.  He was exhausted from the battle, and felt like he could barely stand.  _Well, monk,_ he thought to himself, looking at his newly whole hand, _was it worth it?  One of your very few friends is dead, the rest are heartbroken for the rest of their lives.  But your hand is whole, you will live to be an old man, and if Sango ever forgives you, you'll have many children. Kagome lifted the curse.  But the price!  The price!  Shippou loved her like a mother.  What will happen to the boy now, after losing one set of parents, and now her too?  She was Sango's best friend, and mine.  And Inuyasha… Inuyasha, what will happen to you?  Can you survive this?  Or will you diefrom grief?  I know, Inuyasha, even if you never admitted it.  I know she was your only reason for living.  The jewel was never more than your excuse for keeping her here with you._

Miroku could only imagine what his friend was feeling, could barely feel anything himself.  The feelings of joy and triumph he had expected upon Naraku's defeat were cancelled out and overwhelmed by the pain of Kagome's death.  His numbness faded, as he watched his hanyou friend shake from the silent sobs wracking his body.  The sorrow settled on him as well, and Miroku let himself cry.  He put his face in his hands and he cried, for Kagome, whose dreams would never come true, for Inuyasha, who would hate himself for eternity, for Sango and Shippou who had both already suffered such loss, and for himself.  

Inuyasha was letting himself drown in his sorrow and the smell of her blood.  He didn't care anymore.  What was the point in becoming full human or demon anymore?  She was gone.  His light, his purpose, his joy… she was gone.  The past years weren't long enough… they had wasted so much time fighting!  So much time hurting each other.  He wished he could take it all back, all the insults and threats, all the snide remarks, all the pain he caused her over Kikyou.  He knew the truth now, about himself and Kikyou and Kagome.  _Why couldn't things have been this clear before she died?  Why couldn't I have understood before she was gone forever?  Kagome… Kagome I miss you!  Kagome I need you here… I need you with me.  Only you, Kagome.  Only you… Why did you have to die?  For that wretched jewel?  It wasn't worth it, Kagome.  It wasn't worth your life!  I wasn't worth your life!  Kagome… why have you left me?_

Inuyasha had never felt such deep profound sorrow in his life, not even when his mother had died.  He never wanted to move.  He never wanted to open his eyes again, knowing that her smiling face would not be there.  He never wanted to breathe knowing he'd never catch her scent again.  He just wanted to lay right here, he just wanted to become numb.  He just wanted to die, to be with her.

Yes… I will be with you, Kagome.  I will not leave this spot until we are together.  What is life without you?  I will be with you Kagome.  I swear it…

Even if he didn't know how he had gotten so hurt, the hanyou was badly wounded, and drifting in and out of consciousness as he lay beside the woman he loved more than anything.  He wasn't even aware of it, until she came to him.

_"Inuyasha…"_ Was that?  Could it be?  Inuyasha opened his eyes, and realized he must be dreaming, because he was no longer on the battlefield.  He was nowhere… drifting in a warm and comforting void.

_"Inuyasha, what are you doing?"_  It was Kagome's voice!  It was her!  Perhaps he was dead, and he was joining her in the otherworld.

"Kagome!  Kagome where are you?"

_"I'm right here, goofball."_  Inuyasha couldn't see her, but he felt her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug.  _"What are you doing here?"_

"Kagome, I'm so sorry!  I let you die, and now I have to too…" Inuyasha held her invisible form tightly, closing his eyes again.  "I can't live without you, Kagome.  I love you."

"I know.  At least, I know that now… I never knew that before.  I know a lot of things now, which I didn't know before.  And you didn't let me die.  I saw you go down before I did.  Kikyou explained to me what happened.  She's here too, you know?  And she understands.  But Inuyasha, you can't die, you silly!  You have to get up!  You have to help them, Miroku and Sango and Shippou.  You have to take care of him, especially.  You're all he has left.  For now…"

"But…"

"No buts…  Shippou needs you.  He's angry right now, but he'll get over it.  You need to go get him, and talk to him.  And then you need to heal, because you both need to be strong for what comes next." 

            "Kagome, why are you leaving me?  I love you, I can't do this without you!"

            _"Inuyasha, you have to trust me.  You're very badly hurt, and if you don't get up you could die, and I can't let that happen.  You know I love you, too, right?  Just… just know that I love you.  That's all for now.  I love you."_

            And with that, Inuyasha felt himself being shoved out.  "Kagome!  What do you mean?  Kagome!"

            But she was gone, and the hanyou felt himself coming back to consciousness.  He opened his eyes, and there she was.  Her dead body was right before him.  He lay there for a while, thinking about what had just happened.  He examined her words carefully, trying to get some clue as to what she meant.

            _Kikyou explained to her what happened?  She understands?  I'm glad they do, because I sure don't.  She wants me to take care of Shippou… and to know that she loves me.  Why can't I be with her?  I can't do this by myself, Kagome I need you.  But… she said 'for now'.  'For now…' that means she's planning something.  Kagome always finds a way, and as stubborn as she is…who knows?  She said I have to trust her, and I will._

            He sat up, wincing.  How _had_ he gotten so hurt?  Miroku was beside him in an instant.

            "Do you know what happened to her?  How it happened?"  He asked the monk.

            "Hai.  Sango and I were handling Naraku's triplet demons, I didn't see much else until Naraku summoned the miasma and disappeared.  I saw Kikyou calling to you, but didn't hear her."  Miroku paused, he didn't want to hurt his friend further.  But Inuyasha deserved the truth.  "I looked to Kagome, she had dropped her bow when you fell in the miasma.  I think she thought you were dead.  Naraku, I don't know how he did it, but he appeared, right behind her.  He grabbed her and took off, grabbing at her throat for her half of the jewel.  She looked so… like she'd thought of something funny… she was almost smiling, I think.  She began to glow, calling on her miko powers.  She held onto her half, and reached into Naraku's chest, where, I am guessing, he kept his half.  There was a blinding light, and when it faded, Naraku was gone.  She fell slowly, like a leaf.  Landing just the way she is now.  My hand was healed, and the other demons retreated almost immediately.  We thought you were dead, until… well, you know the rest."

            Inuyasha thought about this.  "You don't know what happened to me?"

            "No," the monk replied, "It was hard to see through the miasma, but it seemed like you fell before you even reached Kikyou, and she just seemed to dissolve.  Why?"

            "Cause _I_ don't know what happened to me.  One second I was running to Kikyou, wondering why she was alive, thinking that Kagome was alright now that Naraku had disappeared, like he always did, the next moment I was opening my eyes to look at the sky, wondering how I had gotten so wounded.  If only I hadn't gone after Kikyou… I thought that she was dead.  And when she called out for my help, I had to go!  But I should have taken care of Kagome first!  What happened to me?"

            Inuyasha stood, wincing and cursing.  "Where'd Sango take Shippou?  I've got to talk to the kid…"

            "I'm sure Sango will bring him back once he calms down." Miroku stood beside the hanyou, trying to help him without being obvious about it.  Inuyasha gave him a look.  "They went that-a-way."  The monk pointed in the direction they had gone.  Inuyasha just nodded and started walking.

            "She said I've got to take care of him now… I'm all he's got left."  Inuyasha was talking to himself, but Miroku caught his words as he settled down to say a few prayers over Kagome's body while he waited for the others to return.


	4. More of the Same

More of the Same

            Sango looked up, alerted by the sound of someone coming their way.  When she recognized the intruder as only Inuyasha, she relaxed, and set the sleeping kitsune down.  Shippou snuggled into Kirara's fur, exhausted physically from the battle, and emotionally from Kagome's death.

            The demon exterminator rose and walked to meet the hanyou that had become her friend.  She didn't know what to say to him, the look on his face was so strange, and he moved as if every step brought excruciating pain.  _He's so alone… so heartbroken… but there's something else there…_  She opened her arms to him, and he accepted her hug for what it was.  One friend seeing another's pain, and trying to lessen it.

            "How is he?"  Inuyasha's quiet voice met the silence, rather than broke it.

            "Exhausted.  I think he'll sleep for a long time.  He was just angry, Inuyasha.  I don't think he meant any of it, but Kagome was like his mother.  Don't be upset with him."  She stepped back as she spoke, letting go of him.

            "No.  I deserved it.  He was right, you know?  It is all my fault."  Inuyasha's voice was tight, he sounded on the verge of tears.  "But… maybe… the kid will forgive me.  She has…"

            Sango looked at him, confused, but not wanting to intrude on his private contemplation.  She couldn't believe how badly he was hurt.  His white shirt seemed soaked in blood.

            "Inuyasha… are you okay?"  She ventured.

            "Huh?"  The hanyou looked down a little surprised.  "Oh, yeah, it'll heal.  Miroku would probably like some company… I left him with her."  At any other time, this would have been the moment for a joke about the hentai monk's wandering hands.  But the sorrow still hung too thick on all of them.

            Sango just nodded, and began her walk back to the battlefield, knowing that Miroku would be feeling the same pain she was.  She wondered what would happen between them, now.  The monk was healed, his curse lifted.  Would he still want her?

            Inuyasha sat at the base of the tree, holding the sleeping kitsune in his arms, feeling the late afternoon sun on his face.  He noticed that the kid had gotten quite a few cuts during the fight, as well as some painful looking bruises.

            _Poor kid… you would have died for her if you could've, wouldn't you?  Don't worry… I'll take care of you from now on.  We've got to stick together now… that's what she wants.  I know I can't be what she was for you, but I'll do my best._

            Inuyasha thought of when he had lost his own mother, how heartbroken and alone he had felt.  His mother had always been the only person who ever loved him, and when she was gone he felt like the whole world was against him.  Until Kikyou.  Kikyou, who had said she could make him human, and then they could be together for the rest of their lives.  He had thought that he would never have to be alone again.  But that had been ruined by Naraku.  Even though the shape-shifter was gone, Inuyasha still felt a smoldering hatred when he thought of that name.  Naraku had murdered Kikyou, and now he had succeeded in murdering Kagome as well.

            _Kagome…_ Inuyasha felt her name, calling it in his mind as if he were praying.  _Kagome… are you still here?  We need you Kagome, please don't leave us yet… Please, you have to find a way home.  I can't be the kid's mom, that was your job._  As if summoned, a gentle breeze arose.  It ruffled over Shippou's red hair, and teased its way through Inuyasha's white, tickling his ears and caressing his face.

            The hanyou closed his eyes and smiled.  Perhaps it was just the wind, but Inuyasha chose to take it as a token of comfort from the woman he loved.  _It feels good to finally admit that…  I love you, Kagome._  The sun was beginning to set, and Inuyasha watched it disappear behind the trees, as Shippou stirred from his sleep.

            The kitsune stretched and yawned.  Inuyasha had to smile.  How many times had he seen the kid do the same thing waking up with Kagome in the morning?  Shippou wrinkled his nose.

            "What is all that blood…?  Inuyasha?"  He opened his eyes, to look up into the hanyou's amber eyes.  He looked confused for a minute, to find himself with Inuyasha.

            "Hey kid."  Was all Inuyasha said.  "Have a nice nap?"

            He watched the boy's eyes change as he remembered all that had happened.  They became, harder and sadder, welling up with tears of sorrow and rage.  He didn't want to cry in front of Inuyasha, whom he was still so mad at.  Inuyasha sensed the need for a distraction, and stood up, still holding the kit.

            "We're both bloody and smelly.  Let's go get a bath."  He began to walk, carrying Shippou under one arm, like a bale of rice.  He didn't look at the kid's face, so that if a tear or two did leak, Shippou wouldn't feel ashamed.

            "I still hate you, Inuyasha."  Shippou's voice was quiet and angry, unlike his usual loud wail.

            "I hate myself, Shippou.  I wish that I could die, right there beside her, but she won't let me."  Inuyasha was trying to ignore the incredible pain flooding his body, to not much success.  Luckily, there was a river not far from them; he didn't have to walk too far.  He tossed the kitsune in without ceremony, and then waded in, still wearing his clothes.  After all, they needed washing too.

            Shippou spluttered, and scowled at the hanyou.  But he seemed to appreciate the chance to wash the battle smells off of himself.  The water wasn't warm exactly, but it was far from frigid, and Inuyasha looked up stream, thinking that it must come from one of those hot springs that littered this part of the country.

            He floated on his back, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness before he began to strip off the bloody kimono and shirt.  He watched the kitsune swimming like a puppy.  Sadness still tinged the boy's attitude, and Inuyasha decided that he deserved to know.

            "I told you that Kagome wouldn't let me die beside her."

            Shippou stopped scrubbing his hair to listen.

            "She came to me, Shippou.  When I passed out…" Inuyasha looked down at his body, amazed at the number of cuts across his chest and shoulders.  He could feel more on his back.  Some of them were very deep, but all would heal, unlike his heart.  "She seemed all right, kid.  You know how she gets when she's figuring things out?  She told me that I had to wake up, and I had to take care of you.  She loves you a lot, Shippou."

            Shippou stood, where the water was shallow.  He had kept his back to Inuyasha through this.  Inuyasha looked at him carefully, and saw the boy's shoulders shaking.  He knew the kid was crying; the gods knew he felt like breaking down himself.  He approached the kitsune from behind, and picked him up.

            As if his actions had broken the floodgates, Shippou burst into wailing tears.

            "Inuyasha!"  He buried his face in the hanyou's shoulder, oblivious to the extra pain this caused.  "Why did she leave us?  Why did she have to die?"

            "I don't know kid, but I do know one thing."  Inuyasha spoke quietly.  "This is _not_ how I'm going to let this end."

            When Sango stepped from the trees, she paused a moment, watching the monk praying.  He had gotten hurt, protecting her from the triplet demons.  They made a good team, on the battlefield.  Her boomerang worked best at a distance, and he could protect her in close quarters with his staff.  If worst came to worst, they could use his wind tunnel to suck up almost any demon.  But she had never liked relying on that.  She didn't want to risk worsening the condition.  He had once asked her to bear his children, and he never missed an opportunity to let his hands explore whatever piece of her was within his reach, despite the many blows to his head this cost him.

            _But,_ she thought to herself, _He's cured now.  He could have any woman he wanted.  It's my own fault for falling for the letch._  She didn't know when it happened, but she had come to enjoy their game of 'grope-screech-crushing head blow'.  She was fairly certain that the only reason he didn't do it to Kagome as much was because every time he tried, Inuyasha looked ready to eat him alive.  She really liked being around him, even more so when he wasn't trying to feel her up.  He really was handsome, and when things got really rough, he always seemed to know exactly what to say to make her feel better.

            But that had been when they were on a quest together.  When she had more often than not been the only woman around, it was only natural that he directed all his… passions… towards her.  It had all just been a matter of placement for him, she was sure.  Now he was cured, he had his whole life ahead of him to wander the countryside, staying at nice houses, seducing every pretty woman he came across.

            Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, she approached him from behind, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.  He didn't move, except to raise one hand and put it over hers as she sat next to him.

            "Did you see?  The look on her face when he attacked her…" he said, as if he were trying to figure something out.

            "She thought Inuyasha was dead." Sango replied, "She wasn't going to hold anything back, she didn't care that she was dieing, so long as she could take Naraku with her."

            "She was smiling."  Miroku sounded thoughtful, "It makes one wonder.  Would I do the same, for the one I loved?  Would anyone ever do this for me?"

            Sango tightened her hand on his shoulder, not knowing what words would comfort him, hoping that her presence would.  _What can I say?  I have no right to burden him with my feelings.  Not right now._

            "Sango," the monk spoke quietly.  "What happens now?"

            She sighed.  "Shippou asked me the same question… I am tired of fighting.  Tired of the traveling.  But my home is gone, so is my family.  My best friend is dead.  All of my skills as a demon slayer could not stop it.  I want a new life.  I want to remember this as if it were all a dream.  I want a family again.  I want a home again."  She paused, then continued, "What do you want to happen now?"

            Miroku was quiet for a long time.  When he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet Sango almost couldn't hear him.  He sounded… timid… something she had never expected from him.  "It is much the same with me.  Traveling alone will never feel quite right to me again.  It is time for family and home.  If… if you would have me, Sango, I would like my family and home to be… with you."

            Sango looked at him in shock, pulling her hand from its place on his shoulder.  He kept his head down, afraid to look at her.  _Did he just- just ask me to-_ She was finding it rather hard to breathe at that moment.

            "Miroku…" Emotion flooded her voice, filling it with an unspoken '_YES!_'  He looked up, into her eyes, clearly surprised by the joy he found in them.

            Without another word, they reached for each other.  An embrace of joy and relief.  After some moments they separated partially.  Miroku kept an arm around her, she kept one around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder.  Their other hands still holding each other between their laps.

            Seated, side by side, Miroku and Sango found their pain and sorrow lessened.


	5. She Will Come Back'

'She Will Come Back!'

            "We should take her to Kaede, first.  Then Inuyasha can tell her family what happened.  Funeral arrangements can be made from there."  Miroku was trying to be sensible.

            "We're not having a funeral, cause she's not staying dead!" Inuyasha insisted, for what felt like the hundredth time.

            "How do you plan on working that out, Inuyasha?  In case you haven't noticed, her throat is ripped out!" the monk understood that his friend was heartbroken, but the hanyou seemed to be taking his denial a little far.

            "There's the jewel."  Inuyasha stated the obvious.  "And there's…" he hated to say this, but for Kagome, he would try anything, "there's Sesshoumaru.  He has the tensuaiga."

            "Are you sure it's not too late for the tensuaiga?"  Miroku asked.  "As for the jewel… we don't even know how it works!  Kikyou herself couldn't manage to purify it enough for it to do good, and we don't know what will happen if we put the halves together.  Kagome's soul has probably already moved on by now, anyway."

            "She has not!  I know it!"  Inuyasha knew the monk was right about the jewel though.  They really didn't know enough about it.  There were rumors that it could grant wishes, but they had never heard of an actual occurrence of that.  All they knew for sure was that it had the power to turn a half-demon into full demon, and increase the power of a full demon a hundred times.  Kikyou hadn't even been entirely sure that it would turn Inuyasha into a full human.  Sango's village had believed that the jewel was too dangerous for good people to use, so they had given it to Kikyou to try and purify, but she had been unable to.

            The group wasn't even sure they should touch it when it was whole.

            "Well.  Kagome can control the jewel.  She proved that much when she killed Naraku… So…" Inuyasha had an idea.

            He knelt over her body, and took her hands, which still held the halves of the jewel.  Careful not to touch it himself because the jewel could turn him full demon even without him wanting to, he brought her hands together, closing the jewel inside them.

            _Kagome, I know you're still here.  We need your help.  How do we bring you back?  Is the jewel the answer?_         

            It was interesting, how Inuyasha's thoughts were audible to her here.  But only when he was talking to her.  It was like prayer, of sorts.

"Well, Kikyou.  You were the guardian of the jewel, and you seem to know more about it than any of us.  Is it the answer?"  Kagome, crouched beside Inuyasha, was getting used to her ghostly status, but she was very glad Kikyou was there with her.  This would have been hard to handle alone.

            Kikyou had been a vast bundle of surprises, from her confession that perhaps her love for Inuyasha had not been true, to her vow to help Kagome get back to him.  Kagome was beginning to look at her as a good friend, or a sister.  They'd been haunting around together, keeping an eye on Kagome's body and the group as they came to terms with her death.

            _It's amazing, how well we get along…_ Kagome thought to herself.  _After how much I hated her.  Well, that wasn't really her, was it?_

            Kikyou looked thoughtful.  "I would rather he try something that he knows will work, like the tensuaiga.  The jewel is so… touchy.  Who knows what it absorbed while in Naraku's possession?  But perhaps the goodness your half absorbed will cancel that out.  Now that he's fused the two, perhaps we can tell.  You know how to sense and see the jewel's aura… let me teach you how to read it."

            Kikyou, ever the lady priestess, stood near Kagome's body's head, observing Inuyasha as he held her hands together over the jewel.  A light burst from the dead girl's hands, piercing Inuyasha's, which were closed over them.  It was brief, and none of the living seemed to notice it.

            "White light.  That's a good sign, isn't it?"  Kagome looked up at her past self.  The priestess only shrugged.

            "White is neutral.  I learned that much while I studied it.  You remember the story of how it was created?"

            "Yeah."

            "Good and Evil are forever battling _within_ the Shikon No Tama.  Until one side wins, it can swing either way.  But…"

            "But we've never seen it used for good.  Everything that comes in contact with the jewel ends in pain and misery.  Midoriko, Sango's village… and you."  Kagome felt such a connection with the priestess that it was easy to follow her train of thought.

            "You too…" Kikyou looked wistfully sad for a moment.  "I just don't trust it, Kagome…  not anymore.  Look.  He's opening your hands."

            They watched as Inuyasha carefully opened her hands, cupping the now complete Shikon No Tama in their cold beauty.  Kagome hadn't seen it like this since the day she had shattered it with her arrow.  The look on Kikyou's face was very odd.  There was recognition there, but whether it was recognition for an old friend or an old enemy was hard to say.  Kagome stood, and took her new friend's hand.

            "Thank you, Kikyou.  I don't think I could have done this alone.  I know this must be hard for you, after… everything."  She thought about everything the priestess had gone through.  Being saddled with the jewel distanced her from her own people, and when she finally found love, it too was tainted by the jewel.  Finally, finding peace in death, she was thrust unwillingly back into a body of clay, and overwhelmed by an evil presence.  Kagome understood the stress she must be feeling.  It was anxiety she was all too familiar with.

            "I don't think I can move on until I do this."  Kikyou replied, smiling weakly.  "Penance of a sort, you could say.  And how can I get my peace if I'm worried about you two for the rest of eternity?  Let's just see what we can find in the jewel.  I must admit… it's easier to examine from the dead angle… it seems clearer, doesn't it?"  Kikyou was clearly unsettled by Kagome's sympathy, and turned the subject back to the jewel.

            It was true.  It did look different when they were dead.  The two crouched on either side of Kagome's dead body, to study it more closely.  A perfect sphere of misty crystal, that much they had seen when they were alive.  And when they were alive its aura had reflected the power of its bearer.  In Kikyou or Kagome's possession it was pure white, while in Naraku's it took on a disgusting red, like burnt or blackened blood.

            Now, in Kagome's dead hands it seemed that the mistiness of the crystal was alive, swirling rather than static, and the aura was a wild storm of colors.  Pooled in the bottom were non-mixing colors of putrid yellow and brilliant blood red, swirling together and shot with bolts of bright green lightning.  Dancing above were swirls of lilac and twilight blue mist, sparkling with gold and silver lights.  Black and white flames ran through both halves, and it was easy to determine which was Midoriko's battling spirit, and which was the demon's.

            "Wow…" Kagome breathed.  The closer she examined it, the more it seemed to fill her vision, as if the raging battle within was flooding around her.

            "Be careful!"  Kikyou's hand shaking her shoulder brought her out of her stupor.  "You were fading away!"

            "It was sucking me in…" Kagome was shaking.  She couldn't believe the power it held, the pull.  "It's… it's incredible.  You can see what's happening inside of it.  It's so… intense."

            "It is, isn't it?  I think your goodness and Naraku's evilness have reestablished the jewel's original balance, since the fighting seems pretty even in there."  Kikyou looked sadly at Kagome, and they both knew the truth.

            "We can't use it, can we?"  Kagome said quietly.

            "I'm afraid not," Kikyou replied reaching out to draw Kagome into the air with her, where she held her, offering what comfort she could.  Kagome sobbed, hovering over the battlefield.  It was hopeless.  They couldn't rely on Sesshoumaru and tensuaiga, and even if they could, she didn't think the tensuaiga would heal her throat after it brought her back to life.

            _Inuyasha… I'm so sorry.  I don't want to be dead!  I want to be with you!_

            "We'll find a way, Kagome."  Kikyou promised.  "There has to be a way.  We'll just stay close, using our powers to keep your body from decomposing, and we'll find a way.  I know there has to be a way."


	6. Spread the Word

Spread the Word

            Miroku had finally convinced Inuyasha that they should at least take Kagome's body back to Kaede and the village.  The hanyou was still badly wounded and needed care also, though he hated to admit it.  But Kagome had told him he had to be strong.  He had to heal and be ready for what was to come.  He didn't understand entirely what she meant, but he knew that he trusted her.

            They had carried her on Kirara, though he had wanted to carry her himself.  He seemed to be getting weaker by the hour, his wounds still bleeding sluggishly.  Kaede had sewn and bandaged him enough to let his demon blood get to work healing him.  The old woman had been very saddened by Kagome's body, but still stoically held back her tears.

            "You will go tell her family, Inuyasha?  When you are well enough to travel the well again.  We will clean her body, and you can take it to them."

            "She's going to come back, hag!"  Inuyasha didn't understand why no one was listening to him.  "I know she's not gone yet!"

            "Inuyasha!  She is dead!"  Kaede's voice was harsh with pain.  "She was the only one who would have been able to control the jewel, but she is dead!  I have not been able to get the jewel to do anything since you gave it to me, that was my sister's skill!  We cannot bring her back, Inuyasha.  I am sorry, but we can't.  She's gone."

            Inuyasha had growled and was about to tell her how wrong she was, but she stopped him with a sound conk to the head.

            "Get some rest, Inuyasha."

            Now he drifted, lost in a silver fog, calling for Kagome.

            _"Inuyasha!"_  She was running toward him!  In an instant he was with her, scooping her into his arms.

            "Kagome!  You're still here!"

            "Yes!  Kikyou and I are still haunting around.  She's going to help us Inuyasha, isn't that wonderful?"

            Kikyou emerged from the fog, and Inuyasha clutched Kagome protectively.  He was still thinking about the times that Kikyou had tried to kill her.

            "Hello, Inuyasha."  She said quietly.  He didn't reply.  "It's nice to be able to talk to you.  As just me, that is.  I… I'm sorry, for everything I've done to you."

            "I want Kagome, Kikyou."  Inuyasha said, remembering how he had nearly gone to hell with her.  "I hope you find peace, but I want Kagome.  Only Kagome."

            Kagome hugged him tightly, thrilled by his words.  Kikyou smiled, but there was her eternal sadness behind it.

            "I know, Inuyasha.  I know.  That is why we're going to find a way to put her back in her body."

            Inuyasha looked down, at Kagome, finally in his arms where she belonged.  "But Kaede said she couldn't get anything from the jewel."

            Kagome nodded.  "We were shielding it from her because it's too dangerous for her to use.  We can't use it, Inuyasha.  It won't work."

            The hanyou couldn't believe it.  The all-powerful Shikon No Tama couldn't bring the woman he loved back to him.

            "You won't even try?"  He asked.

            "Whatever we did with it would be tainted."  Kikyou replied.  "We can't trust it.  And if we try, it seems to pull us in, devouring us.  I think that it's something it absorbed after all of Naraku's amalgamation magic… oh!  Kagome… I have an idea!"

            "What is it?"  Kagome was eager to return to life.

            "Oh.  Well, I'm afraid it will just purify the jewel, and perhaps cause it to disappear.  Cease to exist."

            "You mean you still want to turn Inuyasha into a human?"  Inuyasha didn't understand the odd tone in Kagome's voice when she said that.  Didn't she want him to become fully human?

            "No."  The girls looked at each other as if sharing a secret.  "Don't worry.  But the jewel as it is now is balanced.  Good and evil are still fighting it out within the jewel.  If we could strengthen the good half, it would over take the bad, and be completely pure.  The demon within would be defeated!"

            Kagome was following Kikyou's thoughts.  "The magic that it absorbed from Naraku makes it try to pull in anything connected to it… like you or me because of our connection to Midoriko.  Or demon souls because of the demon inside it."

            "If I let it take me in, then perhaps the good side would be stronger than the evil, and I could finally purify it, _from within._"

            Kagome was already shaking her head as Kikyou spoke.  "No.  It's too dangerous.  I can't let you.  It would be a waste."

            "No!  The jewel has to be destroyed.  It can't be used for good, because it's tainted.  It is easier to corrupt than it is to purify.  That is true with everything.  That's why the jewel is easier to use for evil purposes, but twists all that is good.  Even though you defeated Naraku, there are still demons that want it.  It has to be purified and destroyed!"

            Inuyasha looked from one woman to the other, greatly confused.  They were going to destroy the jewel and not bring Kagome back to life?  

            "Kikyou…" 

            "Kagome…"

            They spoke at the same moment.  They looked at each other sternly for a moment, seemingly conversing in their minds.

            Inuyasha held Kagome, wondering what was going on.  But he was greatly enjoying holding her like this.  Sure, he had held her before, but that had always been in the rush of battle, trying to save her from some one or other.  Now he was just holding her because he wanted to.  And she wanted him to.

            "I've got to go now, Inuyasha."  She said, smiling up at him.

            "What?  Hey!"  She couldn't leave until they found a way to save her!

            "I'll be back.  I promise."  She brushed her fingers gently across his cheek, sad to leave him.  "I promise."

            "Kikyou, what are you thinking?  You can't destroy the jewel.  Not now!"  The two incarnations sat on opposite sides of the jewel, where it now rested in the village temple.

            "Kagome… I understand how much you want to return to life, to Inuyasha… but I'm beginning to wonder.  Perhaps, what's holding me back _isn't_ you and Inuyasha.  It's the jewel!  I must purify and destroy it!"  Kikyou wasn't even looking at Kagome.  She was staring intently at the swirling danger of the jewel.  It looked exactly as it had when they examined it before.  Though now there was a shield surrounding it, keeping anyone in the living world from accessing its terrible power.  Kikyou and Kagome had put it there, to protect the group.  

            "But… what about…" Kagome couldn't believe how obsessed Kikyou was.

            "Listen!  Do you think I don't know how it feels to have death tear you away from the one you love?  Maybe, this is the fate of our soul.  To come close to love but never touch it.  Stop being selfish!  Purifying and destroying the jewel is more important.  It is the most important."  Kikyou was moving toward the jewel, floating closer and closer.

            "You don't even know if going inside the jewel will work!!"  Kagome exclaimed, standing up.  She couldn't let Kikyou take away her last hope of returning to Inuyasha.

            "Yes," Kikyou's voice remained firm, though it was sounding slightly… off. "I do know.  This feels right, Kagome.  This is it.  I finally figured it out… the key to the jewel.  I can do it.  I can _finally_ do it…"

            Kagome didn't know what to say.  Kikyou was lost, in the past, in her destiny, she didn't know.  But the tragic miko was removing the shield they had placed around the Shikon No Tama, she was preparing to dive in, and Kagome was powerless to stop her.


	7. Purity

Purity

            Inuyasha woke to the sound of much weeping in the village.  The village women had finished cleaning and dressing Kagome's body, and were grieving over it.  Loudly.  He debated bringing up the fact that she was coming back, some how or another, but decided against it.  No one was believing him on that front.  He decided that he could go see the body, though.

            When he arrived he got the perfect confirmation, for him, that Kagome would be coming back to him.  She didn't smell dead.  _Well… she smells dead, but not two days dead.  She might have died moments ago… I don't know what magic is keeping her close, but I am glad for it._

            The village women had dressed her in the clothing of a priestess, similar to those Kikyou had worn, but different colors.  Deep blue pants, rather than red, with the white blouse.  White cloths had been wrapped around her neck, like bandages, hiding the vicious wound from view.  Her face was serene, and she looked quite beautiful in the outfit.  Sending the weeping women away, he sat beside her, feeling more at ease than he had in a long time, considering things.

            They said that they couldn't use the jewel, but then they'd had some idea about it.  Something they weren't sharing with him.  He had seen the sadness in Kikyou's eyes when she saw him holding Kagome.  It occurred to him, for the first time, how much pain he must have caused Kagome.  He could only imagine how he would feel, were she ever to embrace another man.

            Something was right, but not quite right, about Kikyou.  She was finally back to the priestess he had fallen in love with, so many years ago, but something had changed about her.  He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was some feeling of… desperation… around her.  _She is teetering on the edge… if ghosts can go mad, I think she's nearly there.  I wonder if Kagome has realized it?  I should tell her… not to trust Kikyou quite so completely._

            Miroku came by at that point, limping and trying to hide it.  It had been a deep, wrenching wound to his leg that caused that limp, and Inuyasha would have bet money that it would stay with the houshi for the rest of his life.  Miroku sat beside his friend, but didn't say anything.  Inuyasha knew that something had happened, involving Sango, but he didn't know what.  The pair sat in comfortable silence for some time, gazing at the girl they had lost.

            "She really is coming back, Miroku.  I know it."  Inuyasha broke the silence, his quiet voice firm.

            Miroku was silent for a long time, but eventually said, "I think you truly believe that, Inuyasha."

            The hanyou didn't feel like rehashing the whole argument yet again, so he changed the subject.  "How is Sango?"  Blunt, but as tactful as Inuyasha would ever get.

            "As well as she can be… she has lost her family, her home, and her best friend.  I can only hope… hope that I can bring some joy to her life from now on."  Miroku's words were serious, but there was joy there too.

            "So the two of you have…?"  Inuyasha let the question hang in the air, unspoken.  For some reason, it felt perfectly right to discuss this before Kagome's body.  As if she were still with them, slumbering.

            "We have reached an… understanding, yes."

            "Feh."  Inuyasha let the corners of his mouth quirk in tiny smile.  "Can a hentai houshi like you keep his eyes and hands on just one woman?  A warrior like Sango deserves better."

            "Indeed, she does deserve better.  I will be better, for her.  For Sango… I will be the best."  Miroku knew that his friend was joking, but he was very serious.  He knew that he would never, in a million lives, find a woman better than Sango.  She was… perfection.  Sango was strength, and beauty, and sweetness, and all that was good.  The thought of ever being with anyone else was just absurd.

            Inuyasha looked sideways at the monk, a little surprised by his response, but understanding it completely.  "I know how you feel…" His gaze returned to Kagome's silent body.  Sadness flooded him.  He knew that she would be returning, somehow, but something deep inside him was panicking.  He knew he couldn't relax until she truly was back.  His breath caught in his chest, at the mere notion that she might not.

            "How do you know?"  Miroku had noticed the hanyou's sudden pained expression.  "That she's coming back, I mean."

            "She comes to me when I sleep.  She's with Kikyou, which is a little… odd.  They said that they couldn't use the jewel, but that they would find a way.  And…" he wasn't sure how exactly to explain this, "she doesn't smell… dead.  Not truly dead.  Not as dead as everyone seems to think she is."

            Miroku could only raise an eyebrow at his friend, the question in his eyes remaining unspoken.  Inuyasha understood what the monk was thinking, but he didn't know how to explain what his nose was telling him.

            "Dead… no.  Mostly dead.  That's the best I can say it.  Mostly dead."  He shrugged and stood up.  He had to do something before he went crazy.  He didn't trust Kikyou's newfound helpfulness.  The panic inside him was getting stronger.  Something wasn't right.  Indeed, something was going very very wrong.  Miroku was looking at him oddly, so he just said, "Something's not right.  Come on."

            Despite the fact that his injuries were still keeping him from moving his fastest, Inuyasha still made it to the temple much faster than the limping monk.  The jewel was glowing brightly on its pedestal, flaring irregularly.  There were forces moving around the room, unseen but not unfelt.  Scents were drifting around, Kagome and Kikyou, another woman he didn't recognize, demons, and lots of blood.  Something was happening, something big, and dangerous, something he didn't fully understand.

            "Kagome!!"  Inuyasha shouted against the violent silence in the temple.  He tried to move to the jewel, but a force was holding him back.  "Kagome!!  What's happening?"  He pushed toward the jewel, but couldn't reach it.  The force pressed against his chest, Kagome's scent flooded over him.  Was it her?  Was Kagome holding him back?  What was going on?

            Kagome did her best to reestablish the shield around the jewel, locking Kikyou out.  But she had little control over her miko powers, and Kikyou easily pushed past her feeble attempts.  

            "Stop, please Kikyou, you must stop!  You'll be lost forever!  We both will!"  Kagome pleaded with the miko, to no avail.

            "It is our duty, Kagome!  We must purify the Shikon no Tama!  It is our destiny!!"  Kikyou's voice was mad, obsessed and insane.  She began to laugh, shrieking wildly, pulling the forces of the jewel around herself.  Kagome was forced to retreat, to avoid being pulled in along with Kikyou.

            _Just great!  First she tries pulling Inuyasha into hell with her, now she's trying to pull me into oblivion!!_  Kagome couldn't believe how stupid she had been.  She should never have trusted Kikyou; she should have known that the dead woman was psychotic.  Kikyou would never accept anyone being with Inuyasha, she ought to have known that by now!  Kagome hovered as close to the swirling vortex as she dared, afraid to move closer and afraid to leave.

            "Kikyou!"  She screamed, still trying to get through to her past incarnation.  It was unlikely that Kikyou could even hear her, much less so that she would listen.  But Kagome had to try.  She had to find a way to make Kikyou listen.  Make her release this obsession with the jewel and Inuyasha.  

            But Inuyasha must have sensed her struggle and the wild flaring of the Shikon No Tama, because he ran into the temple.  Kagome moved instantly to his side, pulling him away.  As a halfling himself he would be susceptible to the vortex, and be drawn into the raging battle within.  Who knows what the battle would do to him then, pitting his demon half against his human half, it could very well tear him apart.  Kagome had to keep him away, keep him safe.

She pushed against him, trying to scream at him over the raging forces swirling out of the jewel.  He stopped, and sniffed the air, his ears twitching wildly.  Kagome wondered if he could feel her, or hear her.  He was calling her name, pushing against her.  _He thinks I'm in danger.  Well, that's true, but I've got to get Inuyasha out of here!_

Kagome closed her eyes, willing him to hear her.  _Inuyasha, you have to leave now.  Leave the temple!  We have to go!_  She glanced back, at Kikyou.  She could barely see the miko, as a smudgy blur in the brilliant lights emanating from the jewel.  They did have to evacuate the premises.  Both of them, immediately.  

Her hands went to her hanyou's face, and she tried to convey to him the urgency of their situation.  _We've got to get out!  Now!!_  Inuyasha looked around him, confused.  But he took a step back, towards the door.  Kagome, encouraged, pushed harder, willing him outside.  He took another step back.

"Kagome?"  He called, his eyes worried.

_I'm right here.  We have to get out.  Come on, Inuyasha!  Move!_  She didn't know if Inuyasha could hear her, but he seemed to be getting some kind of message from her, because he turned and moved swiftly to the door.  There he paused, and turned back, clearly afraid for her.

"Kagome?  Kagome!"  He called, panic crackling in his voice.  _I'm here.  I'm here.  I'm with you!  Now out!!_  She pushed with all her might, shoving him out the door with a force that clearly surprised him.  Only then did Kagome look back again.  Light was bursting out of the temple.  A violent war of colors, twilight blue, lavender, silver, sickly greens and yellows, red, black and gold, striking in patterns that resembled crashing waves or bolts of lightning.  It took her breath away to see it all happening on such a grand scale.

Suddenly, with a sound like a long sigh, the colors dissipated.  They seemed to be snatched up by the wind, and carried in every direction.  As the last wisps of light drifted away, the silence left behind them rang in Kagome's ears.  She looked at the temple, which seemed mostly intact after the otherworldly battle that had raged within it only moments before.  Kagome dreaded entering it again, fearing what she might find there.  What had Kikyou done?

But she knew she had to go in.  She had to find out.  Looking at Inuyasha's confused, worried face, Kagome knew she had no choice.  She brushed his cheek gently with an ethereal kiss, before venturing back into the shrine.  Kagome felt weary, exhausted and drained from the effects of the jewel, she imagined.  She paused at the door, before slipping through it, sensing ahead of her.  The jewel wouldn't be there.  She knew it before she even looked at the pedestal where it had rested.  She couldn't sense it.  It was gone, consumed by its own power.  The great and powerful Shikon No Tama was gone, never to be used for good or ill again.  There was a little pile of ashes, but Kagome could tell they held no residual powers.  Her last hope of ever returning to her body, to Inuyasha, to home… gone.

Kikyou had won.  The Shikon No Tama was purified.


End file.
